Haunting
by Iris Pont
Summary: "This didn't make sense. As he continued to read, he felt the world come out from under him." Something strage is afoot in Lima. Rachel is missing. Most believe her dead. Can Finn discover the truth? Rated T for language and content
1. Shocked

Silent blackness. That's what Rachel woke up to. And it was eerily quiet. Why weren't her dads up yet? Immediately, she stood up, only to be greeted by intense pain coming from her stomach, head, and legs. _Wow_ that hurt! Looking down at her body, she saw only a few bruises running up and down her legs. Thinking for a moment, she attributed her injuries to a very intense session of dance yesterday.

Walking down the stairs, she noticed again the unusual silence that echoed through her house. Something was defiantly wrong, and Rachel was determined to find out what it was. After checking around her house, she then walked out to the garage. Her dads' car was gone, leaving only her beat-up car. Confused, she walked back to the kitchen. Upon opening the fridge, she noticed how little there was in there. Suddenly it hit her. Her dads' must have gone to the store or something. Satisfied, she began to get ready for the day.

The school year was almost here, and she was genuinely excited. Glee would once again be a constant, and she could see Finn. They had spent every moment with each other since Regionals, and she was pretty sure they were official dating. But during the summer he went to Iowa to work for his uncle, and she rarely talked to him. Hopefully he still loved her, because she defiantly loved him.

After Rachel was completely prepared, she noticed that it was only 7:00. This was pretty usual, since she woke up so early. So she sat down and promptly grabbed the morning paper. She enjoyed keeping in touch with current events. After reading most of the paper, she came to her least favorite part, the obituaries. They were always so sad, and she always paid her respects by reading every word. But still, she refused to look at the pictures while she read. They gave her such a sad feeling. And todays were no exception. An elderly lady had passed, as well as a young mother in a car crash. But the next one was particularly curious.

Just then, a large crash came from the door. She jolted up, walking toward the noise.

"Oh, my God…"

Finn practically ran when the bell rang for 8th period. Eighth period meant glee, and glee meant Rachel. He had barely seen her since summer, and couldn't find her all day. Assuming that they hadn't gotten any classes together, he impatiently waited for glee club, which he _knew_ she had. Smiling like an idiot, he burst into the room, about to yell. But what he saw stopped him.

He didn't know what he expected when he walked into glee. Singing, probably. People talking about their summer. Laughing. What he didn't expect was exactly what was in front of him. And that was crying.

And a lot of crying. Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina were huddle together, sobbing. Artie was trying to comfort them, but he was crying, too. Quinn was crying, trying to explain something to a very sad Brittany. Mike and Matt looked like they wanted to punch someone and then burst into tears. That piano dude was crying. Ms. Pillsbury sat in the front of the room, trying to look calm, but crying as well. Heck, even Santana and Puck looked like they were crying.

"What's going on?"

When Finn spoke up, everyone looked at him. He felt so confused, and the looks of completely sadness didn't help. Most people started crying even harder when they saw him. Ms. Pillsbury walked up to him.

"Erm, Finn. There's something that I need to tell you. S-so-something happened yesterday. You should sit down."

"Seriously, what's wrong? Did I say something before or is this some crazy show choir things? Where's Mr. Schue?"

"Well, um… There was an accident yesterday. And, well – I don't know how to say this," She started to cry again, and Finn was even more confused. Did something happen to Mr. Schuester? And where was Rachel?

Mercedes came up to him, looking really depressed. Trying to smile, more tears fell down her face. Silently, she handed him a cut-out newspaper article. Confused, he took it, right before she walked away crying. He started reading the article, and was shocked.

A small, black-and-white picture of Rachel stared back at him. Her normal, happy, intense smile seemed empty, and her eyes weren't really focused on anything. Finn was really confused now.

_Rachel Barbara Berry, 17_

_December 18, 1994 – August 21, 2010_

Wait, what?

He read it again, to make sure he was seeing correctly. He was. But today was August 23! This didn't make sense. As he continued to read, he felt the world come out from under him.

_Rachel was the beloved only daughter of Hector and León Berry. Born in Lima, she was extremely talented in the arts, winning her first dance competition at the age of three months. She spent most of her life aspiring to be a Broadway star, wanting to be amongst the likes of Barbara Streisand and Idina Menzel. She attended William McKinley High School, where she was a member of the New Directions, the school's glee club. _

_Rachel's untimely death occurred two days ago, when she was murdered in her home. The case is still unsolved._

Finn couldn't believe it. Actually, he **didn't** believe it! This had to be some mistake. It was Rachel, after all. Soon, she would walk into the room and tell everyone to start working on some song number.

They door did open, startling him. But when he saw Mr. Schuester walk in, he was disappointed. He still refused to believe it.

"Hello, everyone," Mr. Schue said quietly, barely speaking over the sobbing, "I know that you'll all really upset about what's happened. But Rachel – "

"Wait, you're seriously buying into all this?" Everyone turned and looked at Finn. It took him a while to realize it was him who yelled. It was almost like an out-of-body experience. He watched as he continued.

"You guys really think that Rachel's d-d-da-dead? Cause she's not!"

Quinn looked at him sympathetically, "Finn, I know you're sad but she really is dead. I'm sorry"

"She's not! Any minute now, she's going to walk in here and tell you how stupid this is!"

"But, I saw –"

"No! She's not dead!"

It was Brittany who then walked up to him. She stood next to him, staring straight at him. "The counselor lady told me Rachel had an accident. I didn't really understand, but Quinn says that Rachel isn't coming back any more. She was, like, your girlfriend and stuff. So you can be sad. I'm really sad, too."

Part of Finn wanted to believe her. What she said was somewhat reasonable. But he just knew Rachel had to be alive.

Shaking his head, he ran out of the classroom.

Sitting in the driveway, Finn couldn't will himself to get out of his truck. It was eating him alive. At some point when he was driving home, everything caught up to him. He still didn't believe Rachel was… well, you know. But the thought that maybe she was… dead had started growing inside him. He didn't want to believe it, but part of him did. Still, there was a small part of him that believed she was out there, somewhere.

Once he pulled up to his house, whatever part of him thought Rachel was alive seemed to disappear. Everything crashed around him, finally breaking him.

Finn never really cried. Not in front of people, at least. He had cried when he told Mr. Schuester about Quinn being pregnant. He had cried when he found out he wasn't the father of Quinn's baby. He cried at home the day he saw Jesse St. Jackass with Rachel. He sure as heck wanted to cry when they lost Regionals. But most of the times he cried, he was alone.

He was alone this time when he cried. But it was different. He didn't feel like an idiot. He felt like his whole life had just exploded. Rachel was dead. However impossible it seemed, she was. That hurt him. He felt so vulnerable. He had loved her. He still loved her. But he couldn't tell her, she was gone. He prayed that she knew how much he loved her when she died.

Not only was she dead, someone _killed_ Rachel. That's what hurt him most of all. Someone had intentionally hurt her, and he wasn't there to protect her. After crying his eyes out, he swore to find and kill the son of a bitch who killed her.

Eventually he walked into the house. He and his mom had officially moved in with the Hummel's, and thankfully everything had smoothed out. Actually, Kurt's dad and his mom were on some trip together. Kurt was probably still at school. So he was the only one there, but that really didn't help him. He was so alone.

He tried to act normal, tried to fill the empty space. Grabbing his iPod, he shoved on his headphones and pressed shuffle, hoping to drown out the silence.

_Highway run_

_Into the midnight sun_

_Wheels go round and round_

_You're on my mind_

Oh, God. He quickly turned off the music, but not quick enough. Finn was crying again. He felt angry, stupid, and depressed all at the same time. The doorbell rang, and he didn't even bother to answer it. He didn't want to deal with people.

The doorbell rang again, and again, yet he still refused to get up. After about the tenth ring, he finally got up, defeated. Kurt probably forgot his key. When he reached the door, he practically threw it open.

"What?" He was surprised by the anger in his voice, but he was so depressed he didn't even care. It wasn't until he saw who was at the door that he cared.

"Rachel?"


	2. Truth

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews and reactions to the story! I've gathered that at least a few people are confused, but truthfully, so I am. This story is practically writing itself; all I know is that it's going to be very Finchel! So we're all along for one heck of a ride. Please feel free to review, and any constructive criticism is welcome! Please enjoy :)**

* * *

Finn had to be dreaming. He _must_ be dreaming. It was unbelievable. The past few hours, everyone and everything had tried to convince him Rachel was dead, and he had given into them, broken down and cried like a baby. But here she was, standing on his doorstep.

But he just **had**to be dreaming! He looked at her again. Finn hadn't seen her in jeans, barely ever seen her hair in a ponytail, and had never seen her look scared. And that's exactly what she looked like. Scared. Yep, he must be dreaming. A sick, cruel, nightmare-ish dream. He closed his eyes, trying to wake up, to shake this twisted image of Rachel from his mind. Carefully, he opened his eyes, but still saw her standing there. What was going on?

"Finn?"

Wait, did she just say his name? Not only did she say his name, she sounded so much like Rachel. Could he be awake?

Rachel stepped forward, with a worried look on her face. Finn noticed her eyes were red, and her face was pale. Never had she looked so, so… _shit, what's that word_, unkempt? She gently touched his arm, and her hand sent electricity through his body. This couldn't be a dream.

"Finn?" She said again. There was urgency and fear in her voice, something that scared him. But at the same time, he was so happy.

It wasn't a dream! It was way too real to be a dream. Rachel was alive. Rachel _was_alive! He was so glad, so relieved, he wanted to scream it out from a rooftop, or something.

"Finn, are you okay?"

_I am_, he thought_, I'm so great because you're alive and here_. Finn tried to turn his thoughts into words, but his mind was almost frozen. He was so ecstatic he couldn't speak. His mind was running at a million miles an hour, giving him barely enough time to think what he was doing. But, sure enough, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her.

They had only kissed a few times before. Most of the time, Finn regretted it. The auditorium, the bowling alley; all times he had done her wrong and flat out been an ass. He wanted to do right, make her forget those times when he was such a jerk. So that was why he was kissing her at the moment. But they had never _really_ kissed. Well, not like this. Everything seemed to be glowing, and he felt his heartbeat in his head. There was so much adoration in one, simple kiss, it made the room spin. He had missed her so much, and he was never letting go of her again.

Eventually they split apart, and Rachel buried her head in his chest. Finn wrapped his arms around her protectively. He was so warm, and, _God_, she had missed him. Pent up tears finally escaped her eyes. Literally, she couldn't control herself. After all the anguish she had been through pursuing him, then the torture of seeing his sad eyes when she was dating Jesse, it felt so good to be in his embrace! She could spend the rest of her life standing there in his arms, and not regret a single moment.

"Rachel, I love you," She looked up when she heard Finn speak. She again noted that his eyes were red and puffy. Nonetheless, she smiled.

"I love you, too, Finn Hudson." Never had anything felt so right to say. He smiled his signature half smile, and shivers went down her spine. Then suddenly, his smile faded.

"But what are you even doing here?" Confused and in disbelief, Rachel stared at him. He immediately began to fumble over his words, "No, I mean, I'm glad you're here! _Really_ glad. Actually, you have no idea how relieved I am to see you. But, well… do you realize that you're… er –" It finally dawned on her what he was trying to say.

"Oh, Finn. You thought I was – How did you…? You never really seemed like the type who would casually read obituaries," Rachel felt terrible. Why had she _assumed_ that he didn't know? It was stupid.

"Rach, everyone in glee thinks you're dead. Hell, everyone in school probably thinks that. Did you really think I wouldn't hear it somehow?" The words he said were agitated, but Rachel could hear the sadness in his voice. Finn continued, and it didn't get much better, "God, I thought you were dead! Do you know how hard that was for me? To think that I lost you? That you died before I could tell you how much I loved you?" His voice continually cracked, and he actually started to cry a little. Rachel had never seen him so emotional, and it was frightening.

"Finn…" Before she could think of what to say, he interjected.

"You know, I would have really appreciated it if you could've given me the heads up that you were alive! That the paper made a mistake or something, whatever happened. You could've called me!"

Part of her wanted to hold him close and apologize. Rachel absolutely _hated_ seeing him like this, and hated being the one he was blaming. But he didn't know the whole truth. She barely knew it. Before he could say anything else she just told him straight.

"Someone tried to kill me." Finn, who before had so much to say, instantaneously got quiet. Confusion washed over his face. Eventually, he spoke.

"What?" His voice was tentative, worried, and questioning.

"Someone attempted to kill me. This morning, actually."

Finn almost instantly tensed up, and his eyes were filled with a mixture of concern, sadness, and anger.

"Wait, so-"

Just then, a very disheveled Kurt walked in. His eyes were puffy and red, but he tried to cover it up with his signature determined look. Directly behind him was Noah Puckerman, minus the arrogant smirk that he always wore. Immediately, Kurt spoke up, practically yelling.

"Finn, I know you're upset, but the very least you could do is stop ignoring everyone's calls so we know you're…" He stopped, and a stupefied look hit his face. A moment later Puck spoke.

"Dude, what the hell is going on?"

Kurt quickly ran up to Rachel and pulled her into a hug. Just as quickly, he pulled away, slapped her lightly across the face, and wasted no time on interrogating.

"And why, exactly, were you M.I.A. _and _reported dead when clearly you are not?"

"Well…" Rachel looked around uncomfortably. Normally she didn't have trouble expressing her thoughts into words, but she was completely unfamiliar with this type of situation. Desperate, she looked at Finn, who held the same expression as before, with his eyes locked on her. He was in some sort of emotional remission, and probably wasn't going to help her. So, starting with the basics, she began to explain, "An attempt on my life was made, and I couldn't really go out in public when most assume me to be deceased, so I came here. It seemed like a safe place at the time, especially since I can't find my dads."

Finn grabbed her arm, and her eyes immediately met his. "Are you serious?" And again, the look on his face was terrifying. Rachel had seen that look before. The first time she saw it, she was covered in eggs in the parking lot. But now, there was something more there. Fear? Worry? Whatever it was, she hated seeing it. All she could do was nod, solemnly.

"Who is the dickhead? Cause me and Finn can go and seriously kick some ass," Puck was obviously ready to go, but Finn seemed more hesitant. And Kurt, well, he was completely silent. This in itself was a weird sign. But the distress in Finn's voice when he spoke took precedence in Rachel's mind.

"Rach, what happened?"

Sighing quietly, she recounted the horrible memory.

"It was this morning, actually. I was reading the paper, and I came across an obituary that was weird. But, anyway, I heard this noise coming from the front door. I went to go see what it was. I reached the door, and – well, I saw someone. I couldn't really make out the face of the person, but I could tell it was a man. He pulled out a knife, and I immediately grabbed the mace in my pocket and sprayed the person in the eyes before running," Rachel tried to relax. She was talking way too fast. Puck looked a little bored, but was apparently still eager to "kick some ass". And Finn, well, frankly he looked pissed.

"So wait, you didn't get a look at the guy?"

"No, I didn't, Noah. My priority was getting away from him." Puck proceeded to call him every vulgar term under the sun.

When Puck was done verbally abusing the assailant, Kurt spoke up, "Well, obviously you're staying here."

Rachel's face immediately started burning, "Oh, no. Really, it's fine. I only wanted to tell Finn I was fine. I'm just going to go to the synagogue and hide out and try to find out where my dads are. I haven't seen them all day."

"No."

Everyone turned to Finn. It was the first time he had spoken since Rachel had explained her story. And while he still held the same expression, there was sureness in his voice.

"Rachel, I'm not letting you out of my sight. You're staying here."

She tried to object, but the sad look in Finn's eyes and the finality in his voice made it impossible to disagree with him. And the fact that Kurt ushered her away before she could reply didn't help her argument.

"Okay, now, I got to get you out of those horrible jeans! Getting attacked at your own home is no excuse for bellbottoms." Rachel let him practically pull her down the stairs. She couldn't argue with him; she knew she looked horrible. So she let him ramble on. It was only protesting when they reached his room.

"Kurt, you and I both know what happened last time I let you make me over. I don't think this is such a good idea."

"Please," he replied, exaggerating the syllables, "Like I'd ever do that again. It was an absolute wreck and I have since taken an oath not to sluttify anyone every again. Promise."

Though she was still apprehensive, Rachel went with it. Turns out all Kurt did was give her some new clothes and fix her messy hair. But that didn't stop him from talking.

"So, I know that you and Finn have obviously spilled your guts to each other, so give me the details!"

"Um… nothing that major happened."

"Please, I was at Regionals. And I wasn't the only one who saw something-something going on during 'Faithfully'. So what happened?"

After seeing the determined look in his eyes, Rachel decided to tell him, "The day before Regionals, Finn was trying to get me to encourage the club to not give up hope. And, well, I just kissed him. Nothing really escalated from there. But right before we went on stage to sing 'Faithfully', Finn said he loved me. After that, I realized I loved him too," By the time she finished, Rachel was smiling. That moment was one of the most romantic things that had every happened to her. And looking up, she saw Kurt 'aww'-ing.

"Well, I think a lot of us knew it was true love. The whole glee club pretty much knew after 'Don't Stop'."

"Kurt, why are you being so nice to me?"

"Well, frankly, I could never be mean to you when some creep broke into your house. And truthfully, one of the main things that sparked the diva-off was the obvious chemistry between you and Finn. But I honestly don't have feelings for him like that, so we're okay."

"Okay," And Rachel was silent for the rest of the time, barely humming in her head.

"_Two strangers learn to fall in love again…"_


	3. Reconcile

**A/N: Warning - Intese Finchel. Also, some swearing. Blame Puck.**

"Rachel?" She looked up from her book immediately when she heard Finn's voice. He was standing in the doorway, timidly looking in at her.

"Yes?"

"Can come in? I kinda want to talk to you."

Rachel tried to suppress a laugh. His question was so innocent and absurd! She was staying in his house, after all. _Wow, it's weird to say that_, she thought before she replied to him, "Finn Hudson, do you really have to ask that question?" By his confused and worried expression, he did, "Of course. You can always talk to me."

Relief swept over his face. He walked a few steps into the room, closed the door, and looked down at his feet. He stood there for a minute, contemplating his next words. Rachel stood up and walked closer to him, but he gaze was still glued to his feet. Eventually, he spoke, but still refused to look up.

"Look, I'm sorry for being such a jerk ass to you…"

"Finn, really, you di– "

It was then he finally looked up, a defeated look in his eyes.

"Please, let me finish. It's just that, I didn't talk to you all summer, and I was seriously worried that you would go back to dating Jesse St. Jerkface again. Because I know for a fact that you deserve way better than me, and you could've just forgotten about me. I guess I just was so… anxious? Yeah, that's the word. But I just wanted to see you at glee and tell you I love you and hope you still cared about me a little. And the first thing I heard was that you were, you know… So I was really upset and pissed off at myself. Pissed off because I started to believe you were dead and because I wasn't there for you. I mean, as far as I knew, it was my fault. I should've been there. If I was there with you to protect you, them that asshole wouldn't have done that. And, the world just kind of fell away, and I cried. I just…_ died_, I guess. And you just showed up, and I should have been so happy. I was happy. But I took out all my anger on you when I shouldn't have. I was just _stupid_ and attacked you like that! I'm sorry. I really am sorry."

Rachel couldn't speak. Quite literally, she _could not_ speak. That was almost never a problem with her; she always knew what to say. But somehow, Finn could just burst in and take her breath away. She just stared straight into his eyes, barely comprehending the regretful and depressed look on his face. It was enough to pierce through her heart and render her completely silent. After a few awkward moments passed, he spoke up again.

"Okay… well, I kinda deserve that. I'm sorry… again," he started to walk away, and it was then that the words came out.

"Wait!" He whipped his head back around, and Rachel said the rest of the words tentatively, "Don't go… It's just, I'm sorry, too."

A small, unsure smile spread across Finn's lips. "You honestly can't mean that, Rach," She stepped closer, trying to get as close to him as the situation allowed.

"I do. I mean, I haven't exactly been the nicest person to you the past year. And, well, I really should've called you before you could find out. I wanted to. But I didn't because I'm afraid and paranoid and overly dramatic."

"Well, that's understandable. You couldn't really text me if you were being chased by some crazy murderous asshole."

"But you didn't deserve to be left in the dark. This whole situation would be better if you knew right away."

Finn cringed a little, closing his eyes. In those very nice, innocent words, the memories of the day prior had come running back to him. The pain and heartache from hours before haunted him. He was almost certain that those few hours where Rachel Berry was dead were the worst of his life. His entire world was ripped to shreds, and nothing was left except an empty shell.

"God, do you have any idea what it's like to lose you?"

Tears in her eyes, Rachel ran the rest of the distance between them and kissed him. She never wanted to let go.

Walking down the hallway, it was unavoidable that Puck saw Finn and Rachel's exchange. Awkward. Well, it could be worse.

During the summer he and Rachel had hung out a bit. They had actually grown pretty close. And while he still had serious feeling for Quinn, he cared about Rachel. You know, in a friend or a sister way. So yeah, he was angry at the douche who tried to kill her. He truly did want to go kick his ass. Unfortunately that wasn't happening as soon as he hoped.

Things between Rachel and Finn heated up, and Puck silently closed the door. God, even when they "got a room" they still were rubbing their love-y dove-y crap in his face. But he knew it wasn't their fault.

He was jealous. He knew it perfectly well. They had such perfect everything in their relationship. And sure, he was happy for them. Everyone knew they had chemistry or whatever you call it, and the whole club wanted them to just admit it and move on. Luckily, it meant no more discomforting songs like "Gives You Hell" and "Jessie's Girl". Hell, glee was awkward enough for him without their sexual tension being the huge elephant in the room. But it also meant that he had to witness their pure love in all its intensity. Fuck, why couldn't they find a middle ground?

He would've given the world just to have half of the relationship Finn had. A love so undeniable it was evident to people in space. If only Quinn and him had worked out that way…

Pushing the thought from his mind, he walked down the hall. It was his fault that Quinn probably hated him. And there was no fixing that. God, why couldn't she get out of his head?

He would've been the happiest man to call her his girl. And he still would be. But she made it clear she didn't think of him that way, especially since she had Beth and put her up for adoption. She wasn't letting him get close to her again, "protecting" him and her from the pain and bloodshed that their relationship would cause. And, to him, that's what hurt his heart most of all.

It was then that he promised himself that he was going to fix thing with Quinn. However impossible that promise was. Because he was absolutely certain that he couldn't live without her.

Seconds, minutes, hours, or maybe even days later, they were no longer kissing. Somehow, they had ended up sitting against the wall, Rachel's head on Finn's chest. They talked about nothing and everything at the same time. She could've died then and be happy.

Eventually the conversation dwindled. Rachel started humming, about to fall asleep. It was then that Finn spoke up again, this time talking less about nothing.

"Rach? Can I ask you a question again?"

She laughed again at his timid question. It was déjà vu. "Yes, of course you can."

"You really didn't see who that creep was?" The hurt in his eyes was prominent again, and with all her heart, Rachel wanted to make it go away. But lying to Finn was impossible, especially in this situation.

"No. I didn't."

He sighed deeply, tilting his head back. Finally, he spoke up again, sureness in his voice.

"That's okay. I'll find him so I can kick his ass."

"I don't doubt it."

"I'm serious. If it takes the rest of my life, I'm going to hunt down whoever tried to hurt you. I love you too much to leave you in the danger of this psycho. I promise, I'll find him if it's the last thing I do."

**A/N: You see that button down there? Yes, right below this. It says "review". It's feeling very un-loved, so click it. Much appreciated!**


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